First Presbyterian Christian Academy’s boys’ basketball team is off to a 3-0 start this season.
The Highlanders played all three games on the road and were set to host their first home game Tuesday.
FPCA’s first win was just before the Thanksgiving break when it beat Appling Christian, 80-28, in Baxley.
After a break and the rescheduling of one game, the ’Landers were back on the court last weekend with games Friday and Saturday. Last Friday, FPCA beat Coastal Home School, 83-59. Richard Smith led the Highlanders with 25 points. Michael Burnette chipped in 22, Moaus Carnes had 19 points and Frederick Heaggans added 11.
On Saturday, the Highlanders claimed an 81-38 win over I Can Academy, a new start-up school in Savannah.
FPCA coach Shane Smith said everyone had an opportunity to play in the game, affording him the chance to see how well his reserves could do under pressure.
He has returning veterans in Heaggans, Smith and Burnette. Carnes, a newcomer, scored 16 points Saturday. Smith scored 13, Isiaha Scott chipped in 11 and Burnett added eight.
Smith said Carnes was their leading scorer going into Tuesday’s action.
“Right now, he is probably averaging about 21 per game,” Smith said.
The coach said John Killough, a sophomore, will help round out the starting five. Also, freshman Khalyn Weekly will contribute a lot of minutes to varsity as will eighth-grader Scott. The Highlanders also have several football players transitioning to basketball, like Nasmeek Murphy and Jamison Golson. Jared Wells, Simon Steele and James Arnold are also varsity-level players looking to help the Highlanders make another state run.
“It is not the same team we had last year,” Smith said. “But our expectations are the same. We expect to get back to the state championship game. That is our goal … but we have to take it one game at a time and take care of our region first.”
Among the tough region battles the coach expects are games against Memorial Day and Robert Toombs Christian Academy.
Tuesday, they were set to host Appling Christian. Results were not available by press time.
This weekend, the Highlanders will play in Lyons at the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament. On Friday, they play Toombs Christian Academy and take on Faith Baptist Christian on Saturday.
The Lady ’Landers are 0-2, but coach Rosby Frasier said she looks to turn things around in the next few games.
Frasier said there are several new faces on the team that she and assistant coach Lee Christensen are working with. Mary Katherine Whitney, Cassidy Buckman and Ma’Kayla Alexander are back for another season of leading the team.
“We are relying on them heavily,” she said. “The other girls we have in the rotation are new to basketball … it is their first year of organized basketball, but they are athletes so we are teaching them and they are learning the system.”